November 27, 2012 8:19 am

Dave Boling of The News Tribune wonders if the rest of the Seattle Seahawks were paying attention when John Moffitt was suspended last season for four games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy by taking Adderall.

Unlike rookie Winston Guy, who was recently suspended for games for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, both Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner were around last year, so Boling believes they should have been aware of the consequences in taking an amphetamine-type substance.

Boling: Regardless how flimsy, the lack-of-awareness alibi might fly a bit for Guy, who is new to the team, but Sherman and Browner were well aware of the Moffitt situation.

And a suspension would at least tint the success stories they fashioned as they overcame certain challenges to get where they are.”

Mike Garafolo of USA Today is reporting that, according to a person informed of Sherman’s explanation, Sherman says he accidentally drank from a bottle into which a teammate poured a crushed Adderall pill. The person said the teammate is permitted to take the drug under NFL rules because he has a prescription. Sherman denied this scenario through a text to KJR’s Curtis Crabtree. “It’s totally false,” Sherman said. “It will be resolved in time and I have never taken anything.”

Garafolo also writes that according to a person with knowledge of Serman’s defense, Browner is in the NFL’s substance-abuse program because of an undisclosed incident while he was with the Denver Broncos in 2005. When Browner returned to the NFL last season after five years in the CFL, he was reinstated in the program, which involves repeat testing. Browner is claiming he never would’ve knowingly taken a substance banned by the NFL.

Jerry Brewer of The Seattle Times wonders if the unusual tale of the rise of Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman is too good to be true. Brewer:“It should be noted that we’re not talking steroids here. But even if reports are true that the cornerbacks tested positive for an amphetamine because they took Adderall, a drug commonly used for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, it would be impossible to dismiss the suspension as merely some lesser violation. If Browner and Sherman are suspended under the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, their incredible success the past two seasons is certain to be called into question.
“The integrity of their greatness would be in doubt. Make no mistake, greatness is the proper word. There are comparable individual corners that create havoc and force opposing quarterbacks to think twice before throwing their way, but Browner and Sherman are peerless as a duo. No other NFL team has two corners this big, this complete, this effective and this burdensome for opposing receivers.”

Danny O’Neil of The Seattle Times takes a closer look at what he learned from Seattle’s loss at Miami. O’Niel says that rookie quarterback Russell Wilson is the most consistent thing Seattle has going right now.

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About

Gregg Bell joined The News Tribune in July 2014. Bell had been the director of writing for the University of Washington's athletic department for four years. He was the senior national sports writer in Seattle for The Associated Press from 2005-10, covering the Seahawks in their first Super Bowl season and beyond. He's also been The Sacramento Bee's beat writer on the Oakland Athletics and Raiders. The native of Steubenville, Ohio, is a 1993 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and a 2000 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.

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Wow.I can’t even express the disappointment I have in this team right now.I always viewed Sherm as a stand up guy, now he’s contradicting stories.Damn, the hawks have some bad luck going.Now the league will start calling them cheaters to go with the lack of respect they already have.Sad.

First for all, Guy does *not* get a pass. The NFLPA issued a warning to all players in September regarding Adderall and Ritalin. So while he wasn’t here for Moffitt’s suspension, he’s been informed.

Secondary, Adderall is nearly an “epidemic” league-wide. No less than 16 players this year alone have tested positive, so far. So if we’re looking for silver linings here, this appears to not be a issue exclusive to Seattle.

Well I assume they were told at least a few weeks ago about the positive test and cleaned up their act. I would bet money they weren’t on it against the Fins and they did a great job.

While it might give them an edge, I am not sure its the difference between hitting 45 home runs to 73.

Either way, deny, deny, deny, say it was a mistake. If it gives you an edge and gets you a $5 M contract vs a $1 M, and with such a short career, who wouldn’t try it? And it doesn’t make your willy smaller.

They took the risk, I just wish they would own up to it. Wonder if Brady will tweet anything.

The problem with the Dont Panic Because We Are Losing Games by Only One Score crowd is that they are ignoring the obvious: we are losing those close games NOT because we lack talented players, not because the players are making huge mental errors or are being out-muscled or beaten with speed, but because we are being thoroughly OUTCOACHED in every single facet.

The lack of discipline and sloppy play is directly attributed to poor coaching.

Any decent staff of NFL-caliber coaches could get this team to 10-6. Ours will be damned lucky to get us there. And thats truly sad.

The mistakes our coaches make are the same damned ones, over and over. That isnt going to change–Carrol, Bevell, and Cable will continue to be too conservative with gameplanning and playcalling, and continue to try to win every game by 3 points. The problem with a strategy of winning by 3 points is that it leaves very little margin for error. And stuff happens, even if you a) make a good playcall and b) the players execute it perfectly, sometimes freak things happen, and sometimes you just get beat. We have a team talented enough to win by more more than 3 points, most of the time. If our coaches werent scared of their own shadow.

Coaches are supposed to be what gets a talented team over the hump and into Championship competition. Especially nowadays, with the parity that exists in the NFL, player talent-wise. But Carrol still seems to think this is College Football, where you can build a roster that is top to bottom more talented than anyone else, then run a conservative gameplan and let the players use thier athleticism to win a tight game.

That shit doesnt cut it in the NFL. And it never will. By all means, get the ball in your playmakers hands; but use some trickery, some scheming, some smarts; dont just dump the ball behind the line of scrimmage to Tate or Lynch all damned day. That aint fooling anyone.

There will never be a team as over-talented as the Niners in the 80′s and early 90′s because Jed York can no longer launder Mob Money and pour tons of it into the roster–we have a salary cap. Neither Carrol nor anyone else can build a roster so far ahead of the competition. And his scheme will not work consistently without a roster that is better than everyone else’s.

Losing faith in your teams coach is not a fun place to be. But Im off the Carrol bandwagon. Paint me a major skeptic at this point. I still hope he can change and pull it out, but I have no faith.

And yeah, I wish the Hawks corners would just man up and take it. They cheated like so many other folks have, and they got caught. Now they–and the rest of the team and us fans–have to pay.

But to think the next group of db’s will step up and play so well we wont miss these guys, or that our coaches–soooo brilliant thus far at making scheme adjustments–will tweak the D to cleverly make up for the drop in talent and skill…well folks, that just defies logic. Thats in the realm of faith that the Rapture is coming…

Not usually optimistic, but we can lose our corners for 4 games and still make the playoffs and do some damage in this scenerio:

1) Playcalling dramatically improves
2) We beat Chitown w/all their injuries
3) Sherman and Browner start the suspension after this week
4) We beat AZ and STL w/out them
5) Even with a lose in Toronto and a L to Frisco we finish out 9-7
6) Lil’ help from the NFC and with all the tie breakers we have we get the wild card
7) Sherman and Browner come back to start the playoffs
8) We rattle off some wins and kick some ass in the Super Bowl.

Realistically, I just want some new aggressive play calling. I was on the Flynn wagon, but I’ve seen enough of Wilson to think he can do it for us, but damn, the play calling on O and D has been a joke.

Would love it if the heart of our team (besides Beastmode) wins their appeal, then it wouldn’t come down to my wishlist above.

I didn’t realize adderall turned people into probowl caliber corners, yikes, we should really question their rise into the league. Why is adderall even banned, isn’t like 80% of childeren on that shit anyways. What a joke.

I find it difficult to believe either Sherman or Browner did this ; Browner was already on the watch list and knew he would get tested regularly . Sherman is a Stanford grad and nobody’s dummy . And I highly doubt either player needs a ‘stimulant’ to get up for game day !

Adderall only stays in your system for about two days after your last dose. If they don’t test you before Wednesday, you’re probably good. Does anyone know when the tests are administered? At game time or randomly during the week? I’m guessing this drug is hugely popular at all levels of the game right now.

The problem with thinking the Seahawks can beat the Bears is that the road losses this year have been to teams with far worse records than the Bears. They haven’t played a team on the road anywhere near the caliber of the Bears yet.

Conspiracy Theory: The timing of the suspension of both Pro Bowl-caliber cornerbacks perfectly undermines any opportunity of Southern Alaska. . . er, I mean Seattle, making it to the playoffs. Well played NFL!

Something’s rotten in the NFL office. Why wait until now to suspend someone for a violation in September? Depending on how long the appeals process takes, the suspension could potentially roll over to the start of next season.

Danielle–Im not in love with Chucky, but he never had a very good qb, nor much control of the team. Yet he won a Super Bowl with a very bad qb. Thats one reason he’s waited so long to go back to coaching; he’s gonna make damn sure he picks a team that can win now, with a very good young qb (or a top pick that can be used on one Gruden chooses)–that and some serious input on rosters, drafting, basically personnel decisions.

I will enjoy watching whichever team Gruden ends up coaching for, to see what he can do with a good team and a good qb. Perhaps it will be in Seattle, perhaps not. But I think he’s a far better coach and football mind than some of the other asshats folks have championed (Cowher Chief Asshat IMO).

As someone who takes a mild dose of adderall every day, I’m mildly offended that the League considers it a performance enhancing substance on the level of steroids. Food is a performance enhancing substance, too, and if you eat too much of it or the wrong kind, you get sick. Is it okay to bulk up to 350 pounds on food? Is football – a dangerous, sometimes fatal game – really okay to play? Football is a game of war, devised originally to give Americans practice for war in peace time. In WWII, the US gave its bomber pilots amphetamines all the time.

I stand behind Browner and Sherm and all the rest of our players, including the coaches. Go Hawks!

STTBM: Cowher has a .623 career winning percentage, though. It’s easier to justify that. That said, I think Carroll deserves another year. After a full season of experience for Wilson and another draft, if Carroll still can’t make anything of it, then perhaps it’s time to find a new coach.

Anyone that thinks Adderall is a PED in the same league as HGH or anabolic steroids is clueless. Plain and simple. It’d be somewhat akin to drinking a spit load of coffee, unless you’re taking large doses of it.

The argument that he should’ve known better is stupid and pointless in the case of Sherman. He is claiming that he didn’t take it. Even if the USA Today story is correct, he is claiming that he didn’t knowingly take it. If he truly drank from a teammates water bottle then his level should’ve been low. It won’t fly if he tested positive for a high level of Adderall. So it has nothing to do with being informed. Ryan Braun beat a PED rap. Let it play out.

bbnate–Get off me bro! Seriously, youve gone back to being an Athlete Apologist Troll. For awhile there you had us fooled you werent a jock-sniffing wannabe athlete…

There has only been one NFL player who got away with Adderall use without correctly informing the league. The facts we have now in no way point to innocence, especially since Shermans agent flting lame excuses to see how they fly, against Shermans own word, in a sad attempt to guage the impact his bs might have on the league. Man, if you believe everything these athletes and their agents/lawyers are telling us, I got a bridge in Brooklynn to sell ya…

Okay, its obvious you want to believe Athletes–especially Seahawks–are innocent no matter what. Fine. But using the info available, plus life experience, tells us that probably aint whats going on….that doesnt make me a windbag because I have a different take and am more skeptical than you.

While we dont KNOW they took Adderall, its a pretty safe bet they took it with a nod-wink agreement, and are finding out the NFL doesnt cut any slack. Adderall is being used like crazy in the NFL, and they are going after those with no legit reason to have it.

And like many ADD meds, if you dont NEED it, it can wire you up like crazy; which is why NFL players wanna use it.

I really like both our cbs, but they–esp Browner who is allready on notice with the league–have to ensure they dont ingest ANYTHING they didnt make themselves in the locker room. And Im not buying BOTH of them had an accident and drank Moffits water bottle of stuff…you are welcome to do so, but keep the insults to yourself, it only makes you look childish. And dont go getting whiny, I gave you one after you gave me several…I still owe you a few!

Danielle–Cowher is an asshat and a crappy coach, his wins were due far more to players and assistants than to his own “genius”. Plus, he seemed to know the refs were gonna tilt it his way in the Super Bowl, and if Seattle did by chance hire him, I would drop them permanently. I hate that guy!

STTBM, what’s funny is that you don’t even realize that a skeptic is someone that doesn’t believe something without sufficient evidence. That’s me in this scenario. I made no claim regarding their guilt or innocence. YOU DID! You’re the blowhard that thinks you know things you clearly don’t. You’re just not smart enough to realize it.

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